Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez made history by winning the MotoGP championship in his rookie season in 2013. He did so on a factory bike that he would not have been allowed to ride under the rules the year before.
After winning the Moto2 title in 2012, the Ant of Cervera joined Honda in MotoGP in 2013, and was instantly a threat to the frontrunners. Valentino Rossi was worried about Marquez after his debut in Qatar, where he finished second.
Astonishingly, Marquez would go on to win the title with six wins and 16 podiums from 18 races, beating the likes of Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.
Would you have accepted Honda’s offer if you were Marquez?
No one expected Marquez to win his first race, let alone the title, in 2013, but he and the RC213V were a match made in heaven. However, he would not have ridden that machine if not for a rule change.
Before 2013, rookies were prevented from jumping straight into factory teams. But that year, the rule was removed, allowing for Marquez to join Honda HRC.
As per MotoMatters, it was actually the satellite teams who called for this change, as LCR and Gresini feared disruption among their line-up. Marquez would go on to beat Lorenzo by four points, and Scott Redding still has an issue with the rule change today.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
Scott Redding thinks MotoGP is ‘in favour’ of Spanish riders as he addresses Marc Marquez rookie rule change
Speaking via Full Chat, the former MotoGP and WSBK rider spoke about the rookie rule change in 2013. He believes that the championship favours Spanish and Italian riders, with over half of the current grid hailing from those nations.
“I don’t want to talk bad on the Championship, because it’s the best in the world, but when you look at the lineup of riders on factory bikes, especially the last three years, they’re all Spanish and Italian.
“All factory bikes, Spanish and Italian. There was a rule when, the year before Marquez went to MotoGP, new and up-and-coming riders need to do one or two years on a satellite bike and then you can go on a factory bike. You know what? Fair, cool.
Should MotoGP reinstate the satellite bike rule for rookie riders?
“And then the year Marquez comes up, that rule’s scrapped, you go straight to Repsol HRC. And that’s the thing. you look at it, it’s all Spanish and Italians on factory bikes.
“So when you’re at that level, not only do you have a disadvantage because the majority of the time you’re on a satellite bike, there’s also the funding side of it.
“It’s hard to kind of go, ‘Well, I’ll take that amount of money, which is nothing to what a Spanish or Italian guy should be getting, but I still also need to pay for training. I need to go to Spain and Italy and be riding three times a week.’
“You need to pay for that. And it’s on their doorstep. They’ve got the money. that’s where the championship breeds, which is fair enough. But I do feel now like it’s in favour of them.”
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